[sudont]

Gated Community, Blog, Blog, Blog.

There isn't anything even close to HN for designers, for three reasons. One, design has traditionally had tenets from on high and views that since there are actual physiological limits to what the human body can read, there are set rules. Because of the acceptance of rules, there's acceptance of leaders in the industry whose trendsetting generally spans the next few years, much like the fashion world. However fickle design trends are, most clients aren't interested in novel solutions, they prefer to use whatever's popular. And, because there's no space for actual innovation, there's no need to discuss how to be innovative, unlike in programming. Basically, design is less creative then programming because nobody wants you to be creative.

Two. Since design is a visual science, you end up getting a lot of people who're in it for the lifestyle to be cool, as opposed to here where people are into programming because they truly love it. In programming, the weak members go home and watch tv. In design, they go home and talk about design. These daytrippers tend to weaken the community, and force gated communities like Dribble and Forrst which further enable the class mentality in design. If these communities aren't gated, there's a huge influx of quasi-designers who wish to pad their marketing. However, this insularity tends to ostracize anyone outside of the class system.

Three. There's been a traditional, accepted path for "real" designers: some freelance, then joining up with an agency, and then forming your own agency. Because this path is already well established in meatspace, there's no reason to form a board online: all the important stuff is going on in the back rooms of print shops and studios.

Marxism in my design? It's more likely than you think.

[shalmanese]

While this sounds authoritative, this post is so wrong it hurts.

[sudont]

How so? Maybe I'm just burned out, but I've found the design world to be extremely hostile.

[maxbrown]

IMO -

"you end up getting a lot of people who're in it for the lifestyle to be cool, as opposed to here where people are into programming because they truly love it"

You know the wrong designers, or the right programmers, or both. I know many designers who love what they do - and to be honest, it's probably just harder to love what you do when you make less for it.

"here where people are into programming because they truly love it"

You're on HN - these people OPT IN to talking about programming because they love it. You're not seeing all the people that do it but don't love it. The OP was looking for the HN of design - the place where designers OPT IN because they love it.

As for the "hostility," I imagine you can find hostility and contempt in the top ranks of any discipline. But certainly not from everyone - I know a number of excellent, passionate designers who are the opposite of hostile. The most hostility I've ever seen from the design community is around the issue of spec work, and I understand it - if your wage-earning craft was being devalued, you would likely be hostile towards the culprits as well.

[sudont]

Opting into a lifestyle does not mean that they opt in to the work, it's that they opt in to the culture that surrounds the work. It's like a music fan, but one who professes to be a musician because he likes the concept of music. There's a ton of designers who hate the work, but design because it's "cool." If a programmer's only in it for the money, he doesn't go home and sit on a forum talking about the profession.

Because of this, most of the places where people care about the abstract excellence of work in itself have vetting requirements, where the newcomer has to prove themselves before entering, not in participating on the forum.